The last time I watched TNA was probably around the time Samoa Joe left the company. He was still shown on TV as part of MVP’s Beat Down Clan, but the consecutive departures of AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and now Joe was too much. With the rise of NXT and Lucha Underground, TNA no longer seemed like a viable option. That all changed.

During my hiatus, I was still following Impact Wrestling on social media outlets Twitter and Instagram. And every now and then, I would see a picture that would pique my interest. “Drew Galloway on TNA?” A few days later, “When did Mia Yim (Jade) make her way to the Knockouts? Is that Marti Bell(e) from WSU? The Doll House?”

Then there were other sights: “Kurt Angle is the TNA champion… again!?” Even though he’s in the TNA freak’n Hall of Fame, he’s now a 6-time TNA champ. My belief is that Bobby Roode should have led TNA in its Destination America venture as the champion. No offense to Kurt Angle, but TNA needs a fresh 2015 champion, not a classic 2005 champion.

So May 1st, or May 2nd and 3rd when I finally watched it, TNA presented Hardcore Justice for free on Destination America, which makes it nothing more than a themed episode of Impact Wrestling. Side note: remember Championship Thursdays? It was on the 3rd Impact Wrestling episode of every month? No?

Coming back to Hardcore Justice, the show opened with a three on three team match (no tagging involved) with the use of as much foreign weapons as possible. Abyss was slipping, he did not introduce any broken shards of glass or his spiked two-by-four Janice. Then again, this wasn’t a Monster’s Ball match. TNA Tag Champs The Hardys teamed with Davey Richards (where in the world is Eddie Edwards?) to take on The Revolution’s Abyss, Manik and Khoya. Not a fan of these melee hardcore matches, because the in-ring story telling then gets split six ways with little sense being made. And commentary with Josh Matthews and Al Snow did not explain why The Revolution are feuding with Matt and Jeff Hardy and Davey Richards.

The BDC has an interesting rivalry going on against The Rising lead by Drew Galloway. Don’t know much about The Rising, except that Drew had an impressive speech with his mates, and he used the battle cry #StandUp. I’m all for it, and he had a killer steel pipe on a pole match against Low Ki. Of course, Drew’s victory turned into an assault by the BDC, then the odds were evened when the other two members of The Rising came to Drew’s aid. Again, I’m all for this new faction and cannot wait to see what else Drew has to offer outside of the WWE.

BDC is also back in possession of the X Division championship thanks to Homicide doing the favors for Kenny King.

And when did Mickie James come back? And how did James Storm become this wedge between Mickie and Magnus? Speaking of, when did the fourth wall break down to reveal that Mickie and Magnus were even together with a son? Baby is adorable as hell, and truly crushes this blogger’s heart because Mickie James is taken. But you got to love the intensity on the mic between Magnus and Storm, that’s a big match waiting to happen.

As for The Doll House, using jawbreakers as added insults to their fallen opponents. Kind of reminds me of that movie. You know… that 1999 movie Jawbreaker?

Is it just me, or is The Doll House freakier than The Wyatt Family? Marti Bell just looks crazy, and you never know about Jade. I assume Taryn Terrell formed these ladies to protect her Knockouts championship from Awesome Kong.

Side note: Are Taryn and Drew still together?

Then the main event, a non-titled Stretcher match. Much different from a WWE Stretcher match, where not only did you have to incapacitate your opponent enough to place them on a stretcher, you have to wheel them across the finish line. TNA doesn’t have time for stretcher racing, the goal for their match is simply to strap your opponent to the stretcher… ding, ding.

Eric Young is coming into his own as a psycho heel but he seriously copped that ring gear style from the reigning and defending ROH World Heavyweight champion Jay Briscoe! #demboys #ManUP! It was good business to have EY go over Kurt Angle because it was a non-title match. Wrestling logic made easy, because if EY lost a non-title match against the champ, why would anyone bother to watch the title match?

With the introduction of The Rising to oppose the BDC, The Doll House to secure Taryn’s reign as the champ, and the great storytelling between Magnus and James Storm, TNA has my support.

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About the blogger: I love pro wrestling and all of its layers of athleticism and entertainment. I also love to read and write, which is why, hopefully, WrestlingTimesX will come across as different, in a better way, than anything else that you read on the web. My mantra on wrestling, in any state, is to love it then, now, and forever.

For the first time in the company’s history, Ring of Honor is without an ROH World Champion. The final title holder was Jay Briscoe, who was stripped of the World championship on July 3rd due to contractual issues. ROH Commissioner Nigel McGuinness made the announcement on Ring of Honor’s YouTube channel, as well as the announcement of a 16-man tournament to crown a new Ring of Honor World champion.

Originally it was believed that Michael Elgin, the no. 1 contender, would be given the title. But instead, Elgin insisted that the ROH World title needed to be earned and agreed to partake in the tournament. Since Ring of Honor is now without a World champion, McGuinness stated that more emphasis would be placed on the World Tag Team championships.

Around this time last year, interestingly enough, the ROH World Tag Team championships were vacated due to a contract dispute with Kenny King, who appeared on a live broadcast of TNA’s IMPACT Wrestling. Ring of Honor’s constant issues with contracts with its talents lead to its greatest threat when Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs won the vacant titles–the team known as S.C.U.M. (Suffering, Chaos, Ugliness, and Mayhem).

Lead by “Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen, the man whose had the most issues with contracts, and, at the time, the reigning ROH World champion, S.C.U.M. terrorized the ROH Company with the agenda to destroy it as a whole. S.C.U.M. grew in size, as do most wrestling stables with a common agenda, adding Rhino to the fold.

However, Kevin Steen was ousted from S.C.U.M. after losing the World title to Jay and was replaced by new S.C.U.M. members Cliff Compton, Jimmy Rave, Rhett Titus, and centerpiece Matt Hardy. Cornio became the new leader and dangerously forced Ring of Honor to its extinction.

That was until Corino’s hubris got the better of him, and issued a challenge to Ring of Honor: S.C.U.M. vs Team ROH in a Steel Cage Warfare match. If ROH loses, they must surrender all control over to Steve Corino; but if S.C.U.M. loses, they must disband forever.

Kevin Steen, who has never been a pro-ROH guy especially due to the shady business of former Commissioner Jim Cornette, demanded from McGuinness to be placed on Team ROH. After weeks of matches against members of S.C.U.M., Kevin Steen earned his spot on Team ROH, and eventually earned the winning pinfall that disbanded S.C.U.M. forever.

Kevin Kelly, the lead commentator, shouted throughout the broadcast that Honor Lived, but it seems like Ring of Honor still has a long road of restoration ahead of them. In two weeks, the tournament will commence to crown a new ROH World champion; but in the meantime we still have the ROH World Tag Team championships.

The Ring of Honor episode following Steel Cage Warfare, the defending ROH World Tag Team champions reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) lost the titles to the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov).

Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards, two-former ROH World champions, chose not to enlist in the ROH World championship tournament because they wanted to focus and reclaim the ROH World Tag Team championships. So down the line, if not soon, expect The American Wolves vs Forever Hooligans for the titles.

Answer the Questions: Does Honor Live in Ring of Honor? Thoughts of Jay Briscoe being stripped of the ROH World championship?

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He returned from two years of rehabilitation but Destination X was a culmination of a ten-year long journey for Chris Sabin.

Since returning to the active roster in TNA, Sabin captured the X Division championship at Slammiversary, besting the defending champion Kenny King and then-f.k.a.-Suicide. Yet being a five-time X Division champion wasn’t enough.

Opportunity came knocking when Dixie Carter announced the return of Destination X, the showcase of the X Division, for the first time as a live broadcast on SpikeTV.

As champion, Chris Sabin would be given the option of relinquishing his title for a shot at the World Heavyweight championship. An option he almost had stolen from him from the innovator of Option C, Austin Aries.

But as destiny would have it, Chris Sabin elevated his game to the A-Double level by reclaiming the title and handing it over to the TNA general manager Hulk Hogan. The Immortal One’s advice to Sabin: make sure they remember you, and bring home the World title.

The President of Aces and EightsBully Ray had held the TNA World Heavyweight championship hostage since backstabbing Jeff Hardy–as well as his wife Brooke Hogan, his father-in-law Hulk Hogan, and Sting–at Lockdown. From title defense to title defense, Bully Ray utilized every under-handed tactic bestowed to him by his brotherhood in the Aces and Eights.

As Bully Ray stomped, clawed, yanked, and exposed Sabin’s knees, the decision to challenge Bully Ray must have appeared suicidal. The broadcasters kept pulling for Sabin stating that he had a lot of heart. That’s all well and good, but World championships aren’t won by heart alone.

When Mr. Anderson, new VP of the club, passed Bully the hammer as the referee was knocked out, Sabin’s boyhood dream was rapidly fading. But replicating the miracles from the past two Destination X, when Brian Kendrick toppled “The Monster” Abyss to win the X Division title, and when Austin Aries delivered the brainbuster to the six-foot Bobby Roode to make good on Option C, Sabin seized the moment and realize his dreams by becoming the World champion.

Not going to lie, but for this blogger it came as a total surprise. Because Bully Ray had momentarily detained The Main Event Mafia, the family that promised a fair World championship match. Bully was seen talking on the phone backstage telling one of his cronies to make Kurt Angle, who was driven off in the back of a pick up truck, an offer he couldn’t refuse. Throughout the whole match, some focus was geared towards Kurt, would he screw Sabin and turn against MEM? But nothing came out of that offer, whatever it was, it didn’t take. MEM did as promised, they kept Aces and Eights from interfering with the match, and Sabin did what he had to do for himself and for TNA.

Answer the Question: The IMPACT Zone has a new World champion, will Chris Sabin be ready for the backlash that awaits him?

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With the recent title swaps between Austin Aries and Chris Sabin, some wrestling fans were outraged on how TNA is treating the credibility of the X Division championship. At Destination X, Chris Sabin, the X Division champion, will relinquish ownership of the title for a World Heavyweight championship match against Bully Ray. So has Option C diminished the X Division title to the point that it’s a “throwaway”?

When Austin Aries, who has established himself as the longest reigning X Division champion in the company’s history, created Option C last year, it was to build more credibility, not take away from it. Remember, Hulk Hogan gave A-Double two options: either remain the X Division champion; or forfeit the title for a World title match.

Forfeiting the title–because Hulkster would not allow for a dual title holder–would have meant that Aries didn’t care about the X Division title. With the creation of Option C, the championship would be revered and the champion would be looked at as a future World champion.

The X Division, first and foremost, has always been about showcasing the talents of fast and athletic wrestlers.The World champions in the world of professional wrestling has always favored the larger than life characters–Hulk Hogan being the epitome of it all. It wasn’t until the 90s that smaller guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels broke the mold, crossed the line, and set a new standard of what a World champion was.

So Option C doesn’t tarnish the X Division title, it creates an opportunity for someone who doesn’t look like Hogan or John Cena to live the life long dream of being World champion.

As for the title swaps, some may not like it but this blogger feels it was necessary. Chris Sabin came back from a 24-month rehabilitation hiatus, and he returned with a killer new finisher–All Hail Sabin. But aside from capturing the X Division championship at Slammiversary–besting Suicide and the former X Division champion Kenny King–what credibility did Sabin have towards Bully Ray and the TNA World Heavyweight championship? The loss to Aries (“Austin Aries’ Suicide Mission“) followed up with an incredible rematch against a former World champion, built Sabin as a credible threat to Bully Ray.

Some have tried to compare Option C to the WWE Money in the Bank concept. Far from it, MITB creates a short cut to either the WWE or World Heavyweight championships since the champion doesn’t have prior notice or time to prepare for the match. Over in TNA, the World champion knows when and where the title defense will take place. So those quick to point the finger, slow your rolls, playas.

The All-Night Express (ANX), weeks following their Tag Team championship victory at ROH’s Best in the World, have been stripped from the titles. Ring of Honor’s decision was made after Kenny King’s departure from the company, as he was clearly seen wrestling live for TNA’s Impact Wrestling TV show. And despite King stating that he would come back to ROH to wrestle matches to drop the belts, ROH has declined to do further business with him.

Kenny King, who’s contract with ROH expired on June 24, 2012, wrestled for TNA on July 5 in spite of a verbal agreement made with ROH, in which King was permitted to weigh his options with other promotions on the condition that he didn’t wrestle for them. King had a meeting in Orlando on July 3, which was within the scope of his agreement, but when he contacted an ROH official on the morning of the live Impact TV taping, he was not given permission as it violated the agreement. King’s response was that the agreement seemed fair at the time, but others have told him otherwise, so he didn’t intend to honor the agreement.

Kenny King took a risk in jumping ship to TNA while burning bridges with ROH. Especially after Ring of Honor decided to place the belts on ANX at Best in the World. But that’s the life of a professional wrestler, because unlike the “independent contractor” status in the WWE, Kenny King, and all independent wrestlers, are independent on their career paths.

After defeating Lars Only to qualify for TNA X Division championship tournament at Destination X, Kenny King was seen talking backstage to Austin Aries, telling him that he wishes to follow in his footsteps. Aries, who was released from Ring of Honor in October 2010 due to cutbacks, worked his way through Dragon Gate USA and Evolve before returning to TNA in June 2011. In one year’s time Aries went from a guy fighting for a contract to the top guy on a national stage, so for Kenny King to want the same for himself isn’t selfish. Kenny saw an opportunity and he took it.

However, Kenny King wasn’t the only one stripped of the tag team titles, Rhett Titus was stripped as well. Titus, who debuted in Ring of Honor in 2006, started teaming with King in 2009. And his partnership with King was fulfilled at Best in the World, but after 16 days, Rhett is without his championship.

So if anyone should be upset at Kenny’s departure, it’s Rhett Titus. But does Kenny King feel bad about that? Would Shawn Michaels have become the Legend that he is if he didn’t sever ties with his tag team partner? That’s the business of professional wrestling, if Kenny’s decision to wrestle for TNA makes him millions of dollars, then good for him.

Kenny King, much like Austin Aries, deserves to showcase his skills on a bigger stage.

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Tonight, Ring of Honor Wrestling returned to New York City for Final Battle at the world’s famous Hammerstein Ballroom. The year-end event, which as Kevin Steen pointed out in September, always takes place in New York City. Perhaps it’s because New York houses some of the most passionate – explicit – wrestling fans in the world.

Final Battle 2011 featured a main event worthy of the name as Eddie Edwards embarked on his rematch clause against the defending ROH World champion Davey Richards. The story behind these two American Wolves is they first met on opposite sides to crown Ring of Honor’s first Television champion. Though many believed Richards would get the win, Edwards not only surprised the ROH hopefuls, but Richards as well when he walked out the Television champion. Months afterwards, at last year’s Final Battle, Richards failed in his bid for the World Title against then-champion Roderick Strong. Three months after his failed bid, Edwards defeated Strong for the World Title — that Richards had been striving for — in his first World Title opportunity. That’s when things started to heat up and ROH producer Jim Cornette goaded Richards and Edwards to compete against one another at Best in the World. Richards refused, but Edwards demanded the match and vowed he would relinquish the World Title if he did not get his match. Best in the World saw these two wolves go one on one for a second time, but this time Richards came out on top as the new ROH World Champion.

Fast-forward to tonight, Edwards was so set on regaining his championship that he enlisted the services of UFC Hall of Fame legend Dan Severen. Well into the match, after both had taken hellacious beatings from the other, Edwards applied Severen’s Beast Choker (Dragon sleeper with body scissors). The Richards loyalists held on as their champion was fading into unconsciousness, but Richards reversed the hold into the ankle lock. Both men seemed to have the other’s number throughout the course of the match. Edwards proving his resiliency to the point Richards on two back-to-back situations was more than willing to accept a count-out victory. But in the end, it was a series of effective shoot kicks to the head of Edwards that secured Richards his World championship.

However, aside from Richards pointing out the obvious to the Hammerstein crowd, Edwards is tough as hell and has a lot of heart because he proved it in the ring, Kevin Steen reminded New York that Final Battle marked his return to Ring of Honor, and that in 2012, he will become the World champion and take Ring of Honor hostage. In a No-disqualification bout against former friend/mentor Steve Corino, Kevin Steen was reinstated to Ring of Honor by way of steel chairs, steel barricades, some broken tables, and a package piledriver. With his return brought out his old nemesis, the man who drove Steen out of Ring of Honor at last year’s Final Battle, “The Generic Luchador” El Generico. The two former tag team partners shared some closed fists, but Steen drove Generico onto the broadcast table with a package piledriver.

In a strange turn of events, Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) turned heel by the Hammerstein crowd filled with Briscoe Brothers sympathizers. The Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark) released a YouTube blog entitled “Cosmetically Pleasing” [watch] in which they discussed WWE’s way of hiring talents. Dem Boys were well on their way to getting signed and being paid millions, until they received a notice from John Laurinaitis stating that they would not be hired because they were not cosmetically pleasing enough. Jay and Mark have busted their asses throughout the independents, setting up rings, and setting up chairs. And they posed the question, what have WGTT done to pay their dues? Granted, Haas and Benjamin took ROH by storm at Glory By Honor IX, and went on to win the World Tag Team titles at Honor Takes Center Stage, but The Briscoes have been in Ring of Honor since Day One [watch]. After a hellacious prematch beating from Haas and Benjamin, The Briscoes went through with the match and left New York with their seventh ROH World Tag Team titles.

As for Jay and Mark’s first challengers, The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) earned a future opportunity at the tag gold after winning a tag team gauntlet tournament defeating both Future Shock (Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Cole) and The All Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King).

Jay Lethal successfully defended his World Television championship in a three-way elimination match against former TV champ El Generico, and “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett — who was accompanied by his manager “Brutal” Bob Evans and former WWE Diva/Playboy covergirl Maria Kanellis. PSA – Maria [watch]. Mike Bennett attempted a sound heel strategy of “let the two babyfaces tire themselves out and then go in for the easy kill,” but Lethal and Generico did manage to work together at the start before the temptation of being Television champion became too much.

That’s it for this post, feel free to check us out on YouTube – WTX Video Podcast. My buddies and I perform a wrestling video podcast where we talk wrestling, which then leads us into crazy comedy sketches. Support us on YouTube, like us on Facebook at WTXVideoPodcast, and follow me on the twitter @WrestlingTimesX.

With a new Ring of Honor Wrestling program set to air on September 24, 2011 on Sinclair stations, we take a brief look back at Ring of Honor on HDNet. Volume 2 of Ring of Honor Wrestling is headlined by the third match between Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black, who was still trying to position himself as the top guy in the company. This volume also includes the debut of KENTA as he takes on Roderick Strong, and competes in a 6-man tag team match alongside the team of El Generico and Kevin Steen against The American Wolves and Chris Hero. Jerry Lynn defends the ROH World Title against Chris Hero, The American Wolves defend the ROH World Tag Team Titles against Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black, plus much more.

With two hours and thirty-five minutes of intense professional wrestling action, plus twenty-five minutes of bonus matches this is a can’t miss DVD. Not even WrestleMania XXVII, with four-hours of air time, was able to match the length of in-ring action as this Volume packs onto one disc.